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DNA dating site promises better sex

This content was published on Feb 22, 2008 The online matchmaking service promises to increase chances of better sex, fertility and lasting relationships with less risk of cheating. The bold claims are based on a Bern scientist’s odour attraction research. ScientificMatch.com joined a growing legion of internet dating sites when it launched in December last year. But this matchmaking venture comes with a…

Ski resorts pay high price to survive

This content was published on Feb 22, 2008 But it is an uphill struggle for most ski areas to find the funds that will help secure their future by investing in amenities and infrastructure, such as luxury hotels and snowmaking. “If you target the wealthy, you will have stable and higher revenues in the long-run,” said tourism expert Thomas Bieger, explaining the dilemma…

Insurer weighs up introducing “fat” premiums

This content was published on Feb 21, 2008 An organisation representing the obese has criticised any attempt to link premiums to body mass index (BMI), saying this would constitute discrimination. “We are a bit concerned about the fact that again, obese people are discriminated against,” Heinrich von Grünigen, head of the Swiss obesity foundation, told swissinfo. He insisted that a customer’s BMI should…

UBS wants Ospel to stay

This content was published on Feb 21, 2008 However, UBS said in a statement on Thursday that it wanted to cut Ospel’s tenure – and that of any new or re-elected board members – to one year from the previous three years. Ospel has come under heavy pressure after the bank posted a SFr4.38 billion ($3.96 billion) loss last year as a result…

Nestlé profit breaks SFr10 billion

This content was published on Feb 21, 2008 Sales were up over nine per cent, at SFr107.6 billion. Vevey-based Nestlé said it expected its momentum to carry on into 2008 and announced it would propose a one-for-ten share split to increase the liquidity of its stock. “This milestone performance was achieved in a difficult external environment and, for the 12th year in a…

German scandal puts tax havens in spotlight

This content was published on Feb 20, 2008 Switzerland is not implicated in the German probe even though a Munich branch of the UBS bank was raided as investigators sought evidence on a client. However, Swiss banks have long been accused of harbouring undeclared riches. The tax scandal currently gripping Germany has claimed the job of former Deutsche Post boss Klaus Zumwinkel, who…

Switzerland to help Liberia debt relief

This content was published on Feb 20, 2008 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided last September on measures to help Liberia clear its arrears and to provide debt relief. The country faces an estimated debt of $4.8 billion (SFr5.3 billion). The total relief Liberia is to receive from the IMF and World Bank amounts to SFr970 million. A Swiss finance ministry spokesman said…

Record number of aircraft in the Swiss skies

This content was published on Feb 20, 2008 The Geneva-based company, which is responsible for air navigation services in Swiss airspace, reported on Wednesday that for the first time ever it had handled over two million movements. Flight movements is the term used to cover take-offs and landings in Switzerland as well as transit flights. Despite the increase in air traffic volume, Skyguide…

Sun strips away Venus’s water

This content was published on Feb 20, 2008 Swiss and international researchers have been scrutinising the Earth’s nearest neighbour with Venus Express, a European Space Agency probe, to understand how planets develop. Venus, the second rock from the sun, is a hot and inhospitable place where the surface pressure is 90 times stronger than that found on Earth. Not a place where you…

Blind patient gets “bionic eye” implant

This content was published on Feb 19, 2008 The device uses a camera mounted on a pair of glasses to feed visual information to electrodes in the eye, allowing the patient to see light, shapes and movement. “It’s close to science fiction,” Avinoam Safran, head of the ophthalmology department at Geneva’s University Hospital, told swissinfo. “Ten years ago we couldn’t have imagined attaining…

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DNA dating site promises better sex

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Ski resorts pay high price to survive

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Insurer weighs up introducing “fat” premiums

More

UBS wants Ospel to stay

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Nestlé profit breaks SFr10 billion

More

German scandal puts tax havens in spotlight

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Switzerland to help Liberia debt relief

More

Record number of aircraft in the Swiss skies

More

Sun strips away Venus’s water

More

Blind patient gets “bionic eye” implant

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